


Pivots

by seki



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Noir, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 03:34:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,504
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22557196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/seki/pseuds/seki
Summary: Noctis's life has begun to unravel. Everything he knows is wrong.Written for Lucian Nights, a noir-themed FFXV zine.
Relationships: Noctis Lucis Caelum/Ignis Scientia
Comments: 6
Kudos: 51





	Pivots

Waitresses in somber black uniforms threaded through the crowds of customers, holding trays of drinks. A jazz group played something smooth and gentle, background music for the real sounds of the casino; the ranks of slot machines, the laughter and conversation at the card tables, the raucous sounds of those clustered around the roulette wheels. Television screens flickered above, showing the chocobo race currently in progress live from Duscae. Cigarette smoke wreathed the air.

The predominant theme was gold and black, highlighted by bright neon blues. The signature colours of the Citadel.

Noctis shouldn't be here. Absolutely, one hundred-percent, his-pops-would-kill-him shouldn't be here. He pulled down on the brim of his newsboy cap so his face wouldn't be seen on the camera feeds, glanced nervously at his outfit. Prompto, currently tending bar way over on the far side of the slots, had come through for him, _borrowing_ things so Noctis could sneak in with the staff. The little skull pin was the important bit; it marked him as a trusted family member, meant he could walk in without being searched.

He took a careful look around, tucking his package under his arm. Doors at the back, either side of the stage. His father should be back there.

Maybe Ignis was, too.

Ignis Scientia Caelum, adopted first son of the Caelum family. Home-schooled by impressive tutors, unlike Noctis, who'd been sent off to public school. Always the older, always the better, always the one that was going to be _successful_.

Noctis had grown up admiring Ignis, because who wouldn't? Ignis was handsome, poised, clever, kind. Perfect.

But that had all changed. Now, that admiration had crystallised and curdled into a fierce, miserable envy. And Noctis had questions, questions only Pops could answer. And one was: why Ignis? Why couldn't his Pops have trusted Noctis -- his _real_ son -- with this stuff?

He made his way to the back door; the bouncer didn't even check his face as he waved him through. Sloppy, Noctis thought, gratefully, though this area was mostly a service corridor; grey walls, stairs up, stairs down, another door at the back, unguarded.

Up.

A wide window looked over the hall outside. Two doors here, one marked SECURITY and one marked _PRIVATE STAFF ONLY._ That one was guarded by a single brawny black-clad guard.

Good. He'd _hoped_ he'd timed the rotas right.

Now, Noctis just had to hope childhood friendship really counted for something.

"Gladio," he said, voice kept low, head down. "I need in."

A hand lifted his jaw. Gladio's scarred face squinted at him. "You shouldn't be here, kid."

Noctis shrugged. "I got a package to deliver. See?"

"Uh-uh. What's the man gonna make of you playing at being a delivery boy, huh? I ain't putting my ass on the line."

"You owe me, Gladio." Noctis kept his voice steady. "You owe me... for Iris."

It was underhanded of him to call that in, he knew. Iris was his friend; he'd have slapped that guy away from her any day and not seen a debt in it. But today was important. He'd cash in every favour he'd ever been owed if he had to.

"Fine. You snuck in while I was distracted by something in the hall."

"You're the best."

Gladio pointedly turned his back on Noctis, stared out of the big window. Good enough. Noctis heaved in a breath, shifted the bundle so he could grip the right part inside, and opened the door.

The room beyond was dark, with a single lamp illuminating a patch of leather-topped desk in the centre of the room. Noctis stepped forward, and the door closed behind him with a click.

"Aha," the figure seated at the desk said, and Noctis had the impression of movement, of a pen being set down. "Finally."

A click, and one wall suddenly revealed itself to be shutters that span to half-open, revealing a view of the casino. The whole room brightened with stripes of light. Rows of books lined the back wall; filing cabinets ran the width of another.

The man at the desk stood up and lifted his head so that the light hit his face and glinted off his glasses. 

Ignis.

"You? But--" Noctis began, and frowned. "Where's Pops?"

"At home," Ignis said, calmly. "To my knowledge, at least."

"But--"

"You're here to look for him." Ignis gestured at the bundle under Noctis's arm. "And presumably, threaten him in some tawdry fashion?"

Noctis swallowed, hard, and let the wrapping fall away, so that his handgun was visible.

"As I thought. Remind me to have Gladio disciplined." Ignis, to Noctis's consternation, sat down again. He leant back in his chair, casually, as if people pointed guns at him every day. "Very well. You have me at your mercy. What now?"

"You can answer some questions," Noctis said. "Since Pops clearly trusts you."

"As he doesn't you? Interesting thought."

Noctis glanced out over the casino. Until last week, he hadn't even _known_ about this place, let alone the rest of it -- the bars, the gambling dens, the clubs, the _protection money_. Not until Detective Nox Fleuret had come into his life, had sat him down and offered him a simple choice: become an informant on his father's empire or go to jail as an accomplice.

Noctis gritted his teeth. "He's a criminal, isn't he."

Ignis smiled. "Oh, I think 'criminal' undersells it. He rules the family, and we all do as we're told, and sometimes that's legal and sometimes, well. Sometimes we operate in greyer areas."

"The illegal stuff -- how far does it go?"

"The family? As far as necessary."

Noctis swallowed again. "You said, family."

"Yes." Ignis's gaze shifted to the pin on Noctis's waistcoat, then back to his face. "A technical term, of course. Or he'd have brought you in, like _his_ father brought him in."

"Grandpops… was a criminal?" Noctis pictured his late grandfather, a kind, portly man who'd always had sweets stashed in his suit pockets. "A, a, crime boss?"

"That term works, yes."

"How long have you been, er," and Noctis gestured around the room with the hand not holding the gun, "involved in it?"

"Since I was sixteen, part-time." Ignis leant forward, planted one elbow on the desk. "I was running errands even before that, of course."

Noctis scowled. "I could have handled it at sixteen. Why did he hide all this from me?"

"Hide? Oh, Noct." Ignis shook his head, a small smile still on his lips. "For your own good."

"What?"

"He wanted better for you." Ignis stood up again, straightened his tie. "He thought he could keep you from seeing the darkness at the heart of the world."

Pops had wanted to protect Noctis?

"He loves you so much," Ignis said, his head tilted, his eyes obscured by one of the shutter shadows. "I warned him about leaving you on the outside like this. You were approached by the police, I guess?"

Huh? How the _hell_ would Ignis know about that? "I… no."

Ignis sighed, and took a step sideways, out from behind the desk. "I've pushed an alarm. In approximately four minutes, there'll be six of my best men coming through that door. You've got that long to tell me the truth, or I'll have to tell Dad that you've betrayed us. And that, I think, would break his heart."

Noctis tightened his grip on the gun. "Call them off."

"You're not going to shoot me."

"I _will_."

Ignis made a disbelieving noise. "Please. You won't kill me."

Noctis's hand was shaking hard. He brought up the other, used it to steady his aim. "Try me," he bluffed. "Rather you than Pops."

"Why kill me, when we can all still walk away from this? What'd they offer you? Money? Get out of jail free card?" Ignis spread his hands out, wide, and took a step towards Noctis, then another. "Our family has money. And the police have nothing on us, or they'd have raided this casino already."

Noctis considered that. It made a sort of sense.

"You can be part of it all," Ignis said. He lifted a hand, pushed the gun aside, stepped in even closer looked down at Noctis with a soft smile. So close it made Noctis's breath catch in his chest. Ignis had always been too handsome for comfort. "Like I've always wanted. Us, side by side."

"As… as brothers?"

"If that's all you want," Ignis said, his voice soft. "Or we could be more than that."

There it was, on offer: Noctis's darkest, most secret desire. Did Ignis know what Noctis had dreamt of, in all these years of _admiring_?

Noctis's throat felt tight, thick with uncertainty. He swallowed hard, again.

Ignis dipped his head, his mouth so close Noctis could almost taste it. "Anything you want," he murmured. "Just say you're in, not out."

The gun felt heavy and useless in his hands.

"Are you in, Noct?"

Noctis closed his eyes.

In?

Out?

Noctis heaved in a breath, and made his choice.


End file.
